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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. land — to come down
  5. spring — a coil
  6. band — a music group
  7. scale — size or range
  8. deal — to handle
  9. track — a path
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. track — a song
  12. land — ground
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. spring — the season
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. spring — of water
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. wound — an injury
  19. scale — in music
  20. track — to keep track
  21. wound — an injury
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. band — a ring
  24. land — a country

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com